


Running in the Rain

by Idiotcheese



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, First Person, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), Ilya Devorak, Inspired by that one meme, Mild Language, My First Work in This Fandom, Nonbinary Apprentice (The Arcana), Other, POV Second Person, Post-Canon, Post-The Arcana (Visual Novel), Self-Insert, Sorry this switches between, The Arcana Visual Novel, but feel free to ignore that, julian devorak - Freeform, uses my apprentice's name, why are the italics not working
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:42:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28694130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idiotcheese/pseuds/Idiotcheese
Summary: It starts to absolutely downpour on your way back from work at the palace, but you remember that you offered to walk Julian home after his work at the clinic- looks like there will be a change of plans after all!
Relationships: Apprentice/Julian Devorak, Julian Devorak & You, Julian Devorak/Reader
Kudos: 27





	Running in the Rain

**Author's Note:**

> *please excuse my poor writing skills, as well as the facts my italics are not working...Enjoy reguardless!

It was on your way home from the palace that it happened. The sky had been an eerie black all day, but the clouds finally broke around the afternoon, of course, that being the time you were heading back to the shop. As you walked out of the heart district, the light drizzle from the Vesuvian sky swiftly turned into a downpour. People on the streets began to run for cover from the pouring rain, running under building’s canopies and holding their hoods over their heads in an effort to protect themselves from the rain. You grabbed the hood of your cloak and flipped it over your head, but the rain soaked through it in an instant. Within minutes of walking in the rain, you were completely soaking wet. Fingers numb with cold, and teeth chattering, you began to jog, trying to head back to the Shop as fast as possible. If only I had a horse, I could be there by now. You thought grudgingly to yourself, or maybe if the shop was the tiniest bit closer to the palace. After a good few minutes of running through the cobblestone streets and trying not to slip on the wet ground, the hanging sign on the exterior of the shop came into view. Thank goodness. You got to the front door only to stop yourself.  
“Shit, Julian!” You spun on your heels and headed towards the clinic. Of course the day I promise to walk home with him after work it starts pouring like crazy! Mumbling curses under your breath, you headed back up the familiar streets and towards the clinic. 

Julian’s new clinic was right on the line of the South End and Goldgrave, the western most end of the kingdom, and where Julian spent most of his time. Many weren’t fond of the South end, as it wasn't as well patrolled or maintained as the Heart District, but you had to admit, it had its charms. Unfortunately, it was still two districts away from the clinic, and was a good twenty minute walk on foot from Asras shop, and even longer in the rain. Still, you couldn’t let him down like that.

The streets that were usually packed with people were nearly bare, and what few people who were still outside seemed just as desperate to escape the rain as me. For a while I was able to distract myself from the pouring rain as I jogged west, but the cold water still held its hold. My skin on my arms stung as the rain hit it, and the streets and canals had produced a thicker fog than usual, making the air thick and damp. Just keep going. I thought repetitively. I slowed for a minute when I passed the community theatre. Its doors were shut tight and the usual cheering and jousting you could typically hear from the streets had subsided. Window shutters rattled violently in the wind, and the sound of water hitting the streets made your ears ring slightly. Shit, shit shit. You managed to make it to a canal crossing and ran over the water. It's right there, the clinic! You caught yourself from slipping in the street and grabbed the door handle, flinging it wide open and letting it slam behind you.

You only made it a foot in the door when a certain redhead leapt from his desk. “Eve, there you are darling!” He made it across the room in two swift strides and stopped before you.  
“How long were you out there? You're soaked!”  
“Not that long, Ilya, don't worry.” You grinned, brushing pieces of your wet hair out of your eyes. Ilya crouched down to get more on your eye level, and put his hand on your forehead. Usually Julian’s hands where very cold, but now they felt warm against your head.  
“You’re freezing, you could catch a cold like this. Come on, I’ll find you something else to wear.” Julian took you gently by the shoulders and walked you to the back of the clinic.  
“Wait, what?”  
“Don't worry, I’m sure I have some spare clothes in the back room.” Ilya sat you down on one of the cots. It creaked under your weight.  
“You stay here, darling.” He put a kiss on your forehead that made your heart flutter before pivoting on his heels and heading to the back of the shop.

“I couldn't find any clothes per se, besides a spare shirt of mine, but I do have some towels and blankets. These should help you warm up.” Julian came back into the room, arms full of poorly folded towels.  
“Look at you, so serious and doctor-like.” You teased. Julian waggled his eyebrows, making you laugh as he draped one of the towels over your shoulders. He put another one over your lap, and helped you kick off your shoes and socks, which had become waterlogged on the way there.  
“Is it bad outside?” julian asked, watching you with a worried expression from his end of the cot  
“Horrible. It went from no rain at all to absolutely pouring in just the time it took me to walk from the Palace to the shop.” Julians eye flew open with concern.  
“You went to the shop? You could’ve just stayed there, darling, you didn't have to come all the way here.”  
“It's fine, Ilya. I promised I’d walk you home once you closed, and I didn't want to let you down.”  
“And I appreciate that, but you don't need to risk getting hyperthermia by running around in the rain for so long!”  
“It's not that cold…”  
“My dear, your teeth are still chattering. You don't have to lie to me.” He pulled you into a hug, resting his chin on your shoulder. You close your eyes for a minute, basking in Julians warmth. 

“Eve, Eve, wake up.” You opened your eyes. Julian was sitting next to you on the cot. Your shoulders were still wrapped in a towel.  
“The rains let up for a little bit, I think if we make a run for it, we could make it back to the shop before it starts again.”  
“You think so?” I asked, sitting up. Julian had his coat in his hands.  
“Yeah. Do you think you’re up for it?” He asked. You gave him a sly grin.  
“Of course.” you responded. He helped you off the cot and walked with you to the front door. He held the door to let you out before turning to lock it. You take a moment to look up at the sky. It's still viciously dark with clouds, and the streets were still thick with humid fog, but the rain had let up to a faint drizzle. Julian finished locking the clinic's door and tossed the key in his pockets, turning to you.  
“Ready?” He asked.  
“Ready.”  
“Alright, lets go!” He grabbed your hand and began to run. The street seemed to yield to us, Julians long legs making me have to run in longer strides to keep up with him. His grip on my hand didn't falter, even as the clouds decided to begin pouring again.  
“Julian, here!” I pulled him off to the side of the street. We stood under a canopy for a moment, catching our breaths as the storm continued its relentless downpour.  
“Shit, hold on…” Julian shrugged his coat off his shoulders.  
“What are you doing?” I asked. He took the coat in both hands and held it over his head, extending it over me as well and shuffling his feet out of a puddle.  
“DIY umbrella, Now come on, Eve!” Following his lead, we started running again. Julians coat-umbrella wasn’t nearly as good as a regular umbrella, but it made do, and gave me a nice excuse to hide under his arms as we raced through the streets. 

Within minutes, we had made it to the shop. Completely out of breath, I opened the door, and the two of us stumbled inside, panting. The shop was incredibly warm inside, and made the storm seem to not exist. Julian let his arms drop, his coat that had been shielding us from the rain hitting the floor with a wet slap noise. Between breaths, I scanned the shop. Asra was standing behind the counter. Looking both slightly concerned and amused.  
“Oh Asra, you’re back from your trip.” I panted.  
“Did you two get caught in the rain?” He asked smugly.  
“Yeah, can you tell?” Julian asked sarcastically, gesturing to our clothes,(which then again, despite the coat-umbrella, where still wet from the run there.)  
Asra chuckled. “Well, if you needed an umbrella, you could have sent your familiar to come grab one.”  
“Malak? I haven't seen him all day.”  
From the rear of the shop, there was a loud sound of flapping wings accompanied by Malak, who glided into the room and perched on the glass countertop, knowing very well it was his queue to be involved in our conversation.  
“Malak! There you are!” Julian gasped in a fake insulted tone. “You’ve been with Asra all day? You traitor!”  
CAW. Malak retorted.  
“He's the smart one, staying indoors in this awful weather,” Asra grinned, “You both could learn a thing or two from him.”  
“If you say so, "says Julian, shaking his wet hair. “Now if you’ll excuse me, i’m going to put on some dry trousers.”


End file.
